Swollen Lymph Node

[Vanessa]

Hey Guys!

Its been awhile. I've been doing experiments with my brain lately. I've been focusing on good feeling thoughts and things I'd rather do than going to the loo. Its worked better than I imagined. I don't exactly ignore it, but accept it and move on to watching funny cat videos instead of trying to "fix" everything. Resistance is, in fact, futile. So I've been bopping along...halfway off of my anti anxiety med with little trouble.

Then I get an old hip injury flare. I'm rubbing it one night and notice a swollen groin lymph node ( about a month ago). I know they can swell for various reasons. I just wondered how long I should "watch" this thing. It hasn't changed any. It is not painful and is movable. I have no other symptoms besides fatigue that comes and goes. I had a breast lump removed in April that turned out to be nothing. It was so small by the time the surgery came around it was barely palpable. I'm really done with Drs at this point and am not looking for another visit of " its all in my head". I'm torn because I'm so satisfied in my happy place that I'm not at all interested in looking for something else only to be poked and prodded. Yet we musn't ignore certain things. I'm very intrigued by Polly's cholestyramine post since I too have "Puff" poops no matter what. Hope everyone is doing well and having a rockin' summer....which has flown this year!

[Erica P-G]

Hi Vanessa, Glad you are doing much better these days!

I have learned recently that lymph nodes need palpitating because they can't really drain on their own. So the toxins that are trying to leave the body get bound up in the node..so it is suggested to lightly massage the node towards the heart every once in a while when you think about it. Takes a little time for the stuff to move but it does

cheers
Erica

[Polly]

Hi Vanessa!

Good to hear an update from you! Sounds as if you making real progress with mind over matter. Cheers!

Usually if there is only one swollen lymph node, it is draining an infection nearby. Did you have any recent rashes, bug bites, toe injuries, etc., that you know of? If you can't feel any swollen node on the opposite side (or anywhere else, like the neck, armpit), then you can probably watch it for a while. Nodes can take quite a while to go down in size, but you should be able to see a decrease over time: like from walnut-size to pecan to peanut!

It might be worthwhile to try the cholestyramine - it's the only way to know if it will help and is quite safe. If it helps to firm up the B.M, then it will lead to much reduced overall anxiety - since the major MC anxiety (at least for me) is never knowing when you might have D. I find that even a little bit of firming up leads to less urgency, thus giving us more time to get to the toilet.

Good luck!

Polly

[Vanessa]

Thanks guys!

Polly, that puts my mind at ease about the lymph node. We all know what's associated with celiac disease and the lymphatic system ( I refuse to say or write it) I think it will be worth it at my next check up to try that med since it's pretty benign. Thanks for the input!